Adams County AHGP Mississippi Civil War

ADAMS COUNTY EXECUTIONS

From 1800-1899 there were 107 executions in the state of Mississippi.

"...The 1838 enactment of discretionary death penalty statutes in Tennessee, and later in Alabama, were seen as a great reform. This introduction of sentencing discretion in the capital process was perceived as a victory for abolitionists because prior to the enactment of these statutes, all states mandated the death penalty for anyone convicted of a capital crime, regardless of circumstances. With the exception of a small number of rarely committed crimes in a few jurisdictions, all mandatory capital punishment laws had been abolished by 1963. (Bohm, 1999)
During the Civil War, opposition to the death penalty waned, as more attention was given to the anti-slavery movement. After the war, new developments in the means of executions emerged."2

IN this information during the period from 1822 to 1859 it is interesting to note that the majority of those executed in the State of Mississippi were slaves, and a few whites. It is unclear in this information if dueling was taken into consideration. Dueling became illegal in Mississippi in the year 1817 and 18363. There were several people who died as a result of being, "Called out..." The survivors of these duels were murderers under the law of the time.

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